First edition cover. Published by Warne in 1905. Source: Wikipedia.org

[Sara just met her new doll, Emily]
Capt. Crewe: You know, dolls make the very best friends. Just because they can’t speak doesn’t mean they don’t listen. And did you know that when we leave them alone in our room, they come to life?
Sara Crewe: They do?
Capt. Crewe: Yes! But before we walk in and catch them, they return to their place as quick as lightning!
Sara Crewe: Why don’t they come to life in front of us so we can see them?
Capt. Crewe: Because it’s magic. Magic has to be believed. It’s the only way it’s real.
(from A Little Princess movie)

Have you ever read or seen A Little Princess?

I’ve just seen the film that was made in 1995 by a director Alfonso Cuarón. The film is based on a novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett, an English-American author who is best known for The Secret Garden (1911).

To be honest, I’ve never read that book though I knew the story. After watching the movie, be sure I’m going to read it, finally.

Picture from the movie A Little Princess (1995)

Now

What’s that special about A Little Princess?

Don’t worry, I’m not going to bother you with the storyline. (But if you would love to read about it, just scroll down and read the storyline in a nutshell.)

I want to tell you about its extraordinarinesses. (Wow. Is that even a word?)

Sara Crewe: Papa? Maya told me that all girls are princesses.
Capt. Crewe: Maya… is a very wise woman.
Sara Crewe: Then it’s true?
Capt. Crewe: You can be anything you want to be, my love, as long as you believe.
Sara Crewe: What do you believe?
Capt. Crewe: I believe that you are… and always will be… my little princess.
(from A Little Princess movie)

Faith. Hope. Love. Friendship. Devotion. But most of all… MAGIC. That’s what the story is about, and that’s why I like it. Moreover, there’s another very special thing you can admire – Sara’s exotic story she tells her schoolmates.

Picture from the movie A Little Princess (1995)

Indian Poem Ramayana

“The characters of Sara’s story, Prince Rama, his wife Sita, and the evil Ravana, all come from the ancient/epic Indian poem Ramayana,” says IMDb.com.

That’s quite cool.

I LOVE when the reality goes through books and films and makes it more alive! Several times you can even see a book with a title Ramayana in the movie.

Not enough? So, what about this: “The name of Ram Dass’s monkey is Hanuman, which is the name of the monkey god who helped Prince Rama get Sita back from Ravana in The Ramayana,” says IMDb.com again.

Exciting. Can’t wait to read the book.

Picture from the movie A Little Princess (1995)

Maya: All women are princesses, it is our right.
(from A Little Princess movie)

Storyline in a Nutshell

Sara, a 7-year-old British girl lives with her father, Captain Crewe, in exotic India. Suddenly they have to move. So, she’s staying in New York, while her father’s fighting in a war. Sara lives in a school for girls. She enchants people around with her kindness, faith in a magic and exotic stories. But the painful life path lies ahead of her. Will she believe in the magic even in her sorrows?